Parachute for aeroplanes



F. L. WATSON.

PARACHUTE FOR AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION F ILED FEB. 24, IBM).

Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

Ill/I110,

iii-5% his AZIQZ'IIQVS FRANK L. WATSON, OF LOS ANGIE-LES, CALIFORNIA.

PARACHU'IIE FOR AEROIBLANES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

Application filed February 24, 1919. Serial No. 278,710. I

To all who-m it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK lVA'rsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Parachutes for Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to a parachute construction to retard the descent of aeroplanes and to act as a brake 1n landing.

The objects of tlllS'lllVGIltlOIl, are first, to

provide a parachute construction which does not require any material change in aeroplanes as now constructed; second, to pro-.

vide a construction which does not interfere with the flight of the aeroplane and. is light in weight; third, to provide a construction which is easily manipulated; and fourth, to

provide details, whereby simplicity and compactness of struetureiiresecured.

I accomplish these objects by means of the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an aeroplane having a portion of one plane broken away; Fig. 2 is an enlarged section as seen on the line 2-2 of Fig.v 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a section through the plane; Fig. 4 is an enlarged section as seen on the line 4l4 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged section as seen on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, my invention is. shown applied to the upper supporting plane of an aeroplane,

. the details of the'aeroplane construction not being shown as they form no part of my invention. The parachute construction is applied to the upper surface of the plane, and consists of a pliable sheet secured thereto so that it may 'fill out and stand away from the pIan'e there being means to hold the sheet flat upon the plane when not'in use and to release the sheet when it is desired to use same. v t

More specifically, 6 indicates the fuselage of the aeroplane and 7 the upper supporting plane. A pliable sheet preferably of canvas or light fabric is indicated by '8. This sheet extends'the width of the plane, but has a depth greater than the plane so that under the pressure of air it may belly out as indicated in Fig. 3. The sheet is secured to the plane at its forward and rear edges by means of flexible ropes or cables 9. Secured to the sheet 8 adjacent its rear edge and adjacent the rear edge of the plane is an apron 10. Vent openings 11 are provided at .the-

juncture of the sheet and apron- The forward edge of the sheet is looped to receive a stiffening strip 12. When in collapsed position upon the plane, the rear of the sheet is folded as indicated by 13 in Fig.2. By referring to Fig. 1 it will be noticed that there is some slack of the cables 9 to permit.

the parachute sheet to be lifted. away from the plane when in use. Snap fasteners 1- secure the edges of the sheet to the outer edge of the plane, providing means for easily detaching the sheet from the plane when air passes thereunder.

In. order to insure the front edge of the sheet being held away from the plane, after it has once been released, a construction is provided, which is shown in Fig. 5. Secured to one of the struts 15 is a casing 16,

in which slides a bar 17. The upper end of the bar 17 is secured to the forward edge of the sheet. On the rear face of the bar are downwardly inclined teeth 18 adapted to hook over a pin 19 fixed in the casing 10. On the forward face of the bar 17 is a leaf spring 20 the free end of which rests against the casing, thereby pressing the bar 17 to the rear and holding the teeth in engagement with pin 19. It will-be noted thatbar 17 can be raised by merely pulling upwardly upon it, but the pin 19 prevents the bar from being lowered by downward pressure. In order to lower the bar, it isnecessary to force it forwardly against the action of spring 20 So that the ends or tops of the" teeth 18 will clear the pin 19'.- \Vheirthe sheet 8 is raised or lifted from the plane,

the bar 17 rises and the forward edge of the sheet will be held clear of the plane regardless of the continued air pressure underneath the sheet.

This provides safety means so that the sheet will not be flattened upon the top of the plane after once having There are va-" the sheet, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

' Means, later described, is provided for holding the clasping'strip in position. At appropriate intervals along the upper surface 'of a catch 26. Theforward end of the catch 26 is bifurcated, one arm extending above the upper surface of the plane and over the clasping strip 21, the-other arm engaging the under surface of the plane. A spiral spring 27 is disposed on the stem of the catch and holds the latter in itsforward position; Fastened to the under side of the plane adjacent the slot 24 is a bracket 28 upon whichds pivoted a lever 29, one end of which is pivotally attached to the stem of the'catch 26. The other end of lever 29 has a cable 30 or any other suitable means attached thereto and leading to a position convenient for its operation by the avlator.

It is evident that when the catch is in the positionshown in Fig. 4,'the forward edge of the parachute sheet is securely held.

' against the plane. Upon moving the catch ving strips 21 and 32.

26 to the rear the clasping strip 21 is released.

Adjacent the rear of the sheet 8 at the position where the upper layer of the fold occurs a stiffening strip 31 is disposed in a pocket, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3. A clasping strip 32 is hinged to the rear of the plane and a catch 33 to hold the same is provided. This construction is like that on the entering edge. If desired catches 23 and 33 may be secured to each other by any well own means so as to be operated from a single control. 1

The parachute sheet is placed'in a collapsed position; upon the plane by, folding the rear as shown in Fig. 2. The bar 17 is placed in its lower position, clasping strip 21 over the forward end of the sheet, the catch 23 in position to hold the clasping strip, clasping strip 32 over the rear fold with catch 33 holding its clasping strip in position, and the snap fasteners 14 attached. Thesheet is now fiat against the top of the plane and will not interfere with its operation orrelease itself due to the pressure of air in the flight 'of the machine. When it is desired to. retard the descent of the machine,

due to an accident or any other reason, the aviator manipulates the catch control to move catches 23 and 33 so as to release clasp- The compression lapsed thereon,

springs 22 give the forward edge of the sheet its initial lift throwing the clasplng strip 21 into theposition shown in Fig. 3. The air now rushes underneath the sheet and fills it out as shown in Fig. 3, sothat it acts as a parachute, the snap fasteners releasing the sheet due, to pressure. The movement of the sheet to its uppermost position drags the bar 17 upwardly, in which position it looks, thereby holding the forward edge of the sheet so that air can always passthereunder.

The apron 10 is especially useful in nose dives. The rush of air will not tear away the parachute at the rear as air may pass through the vents 11. At the same time resistance is ofi ered and a parachute efi'ect obtained.

In addition to the retarding effect of the parachute in descending, it has a braking effect. Upon release of the parachute dur ing the forward movement of the aeroplane, air resistance is added to the top of the machine. Due to the inertia of the heavier and lower part of the machine, the latter continues to move forward at a greater speed than the top, and the plane tilts presenting a movement of the aeroplane. This will retard the forward movement of the aeroplane, and thereby act as a brake. It is thus seen that the parachute may be used as a brake iii-landing or to decrease speed, especially where there is danger of a collision.

What I claim is:

1. In an aeroplane, the combination with a'supporting plane of a pliable sheet col-'- lapsed thereon, means securing said sheet to said plane so that said sheet may fill out and stand away from said plane, means clasping a transverse edge of said sheet to said plane, said means being operable to release saidsheet, and means to initially lift the forward edge of said sheet from said plane upon release of said sheet so as to permit the passage of air thereunder.

2. In an aeroplane, the combination with a supporting plane of a pliable sheet collapsed thereon, means securing said sheet to a transverse ed sheet, and resilient means tending to lift the forward edge so as under. 4

3. In an aeroplane, the combination with a supporting plane of a pliable sheet colan apron having openings therein securing said sheet to said plane at the rear, means securing the front edge of said sheet to said plane so that said sheet may fill out and stand awayfrom said plane, and a releasable clasping. strip for clasping a transverse edge of saidsheet to said plane.

to permit the passage of air there- 4. In an aeroplane, the combination with 180 greater plane surface resisting the forward iio means clasping ge of said sheet to said plane, said means being operable to' release said of said sheet from said plane said sheet to said plane so that said sheet may fill out and stand away from said plane,

,a releasable clasping strip for claSping a transverse edge of said sheet to said plane, and resilient means tending to lift the forward edgeof said sheet from said plane so as to permit the passage of air hereunder.

5. In an aeroplane, the combination with a supporting plane of a pliable sheet collapsed thereon, means securing said sheet to said plane so that said sheet may fill out and stand away from said plane, a clasping strip hinged to said plane at an edge to clasp a transverse edge of said sheet to said plane, means to releasably hold said strip on said sheet, and resilient means interposed between the forward edgev of said sheet when collasped on said plane to initially lift said edge and permit the passage of air under said sheet. I

6. In an aeroplane, the combination with a supporting plane of a pliable sheet of greater extension than said plane collapsed thereon, cables securing said sheet to said plane so that said sheet may fill out and stand away from said plane, a clasping strip hinged to said plane at an edge to clasp a means to releasably hold said strip on said .transverse edge of said sheet to said plane,

sheet, springs interposed between the for- L ward edge of said sheet and sage of air thereunder.

In witness that I claim have hereunto subscribed my name thislOth day of February,19l9.

FRANK L. WATSON.

permit the pasthe foregoing I 

